1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to improvements of multiple fuel blending. More particularly, it relates to an apparatus and method for automatically using and converting various waste cooking oils, including but not limited to, variations of vegetable, peanut and pressed oils, into usable bio-fuel while simultaneously and automatically blending this fuel with natural gas or propane and hydrogen in a predetermined ratio that is adapted and predicted based on historical and actual use data.
2. Description of the Related Art
For many years, industry has been interested, on the one hand, in alternative energy sources that are not based on fossil deposits, and on the other hand, in so-called “renewable raw materials.” The latter include in particular plant oils, or in other words, fatty acid esters, usually triglycerides, which in general can be classified as bio-degradable and environmentally harmless.
Various environmental legislation, structural changes in agriculture and the general ecological trend, have facilitated the growth and use of bio-fuels as renewable raw materials in place of existing fuels such as conventional diesel fuel.
More recently, there has been a very strong focus on a user's use of fuel resources and their ultimate “carbon footprint,” which generally describes the environmental impact of carbon emissions, measured in units of carbon dioxide. The carbon footprint measures the amount of carbon dioxide produced by a person, organization or location at a given time. It is generally environmentally and politically friendly to reduce one's carbon footprint.
Various systems and processes were developed in the past to process bio-diesel fuels. It was also not uncommon to blend such fuels with natural gas in order to improve the fuel efficiencies and lower the NOx, CO and CO2 emissions as well as facilitate reducing the carbon footprint associated with the location.
Biodiesel fuel production is a well-known art that can be accomplished in numerous ways. Typically, it involves manual steps of mixing chemicals such as lye and methanol, then heating the waste oil and removing any glycerin by-product. This process can be done with multiple procedures in multiple combinations to produce various types of biodiesel fuels. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,015,440; 6,174,501 and 6,409,778 are examples of this type of production and are incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof.
Hydrogen was sometimes mixed with natural gas and used as a fuel. Generating hydrogen by electrolysis of water is another known art whereby water is introduced into an electrolyzer cell in which an electric current separates the water molecules into a hydrogen and oxygen gas mixture called hydroxyl. This gas is further separated in a bubbler, where pure hydrogen is obtained for various uses. An additional known technique for accelerating the electrolysis process is adding a catalyst, such as potassium hydroxide KOH to the supply of distilled or domestic tap water. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,896,789; 5,139,002 and U.S. Publication No. 2009/0025291 are examples of several hydrolysis techniques and are incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof.
Furthermore, other prior inventions have utilized the blending of natural gas with diesel fuels to improve fuel efficiencies and to lower NOx, CO and CO2 emissions, as well as to provide flexibility of multi-fuel operation for the compression ignition engine as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,206 and U.S. Publication No. 2009/0120385, all of which are incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof.
Another known art is cogeneration typically known as Combined Heat and Power (CHP) which utilizes the waste heat from an engine water jacket and exhaust gas. The waste heat is converted to useful energy to improve the overall efficiency of combustion burn process to thoroughly consume the entire BTU energy content of various fuels. It is also known as the art of utilizing waste thermal heat for various ancillary processes as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,752,697; 4,802,100; 6,988,024 and 6,290,142 and WO2009/0146126, all of which are incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof.
Because gaseous fuels, such as natural gas, propane, hydrogen and blends thereof, are cleaner burning fuels compared to liquid fuels, such as diesel, recent attention has been directed to developing engines that can burn such fuels while matching the power and performance that engine operators are accustomed to expecting from diesel engines. Recently, research has been directed towards blending natural gas and hydrogen for use in a homogenous charge, spark-ignition engines.
Engines that are capable of injecting a gaseous fuel directly into the combustion chamber of a high compression internal combustion engine are being developed. Engines fueled with natural gas that use this approach can substantially match the power, performance and efficiency characteristics of a conventional diesel engine, but with lower emissions of NOx, unburned hydrocarbons and particulate material (PM). NOx are key components in the formation of photochemical smog, as well as believed to be a contributor to acid rain. PM emissions, among other detrimental health effects, have been linked to increased cardiovascular mortality rates and impaired lung development in children. However, with direct injection engines that are fueled with natural gas, it has been found that there is a trade-off between NOx emissions and emissions of unburned hydrocarbons and PM. Environmental regulatory bodies in North America and around the world have legislated substantial reductions in NOx and PM emissions from internal combustion engines.
What is needed, therefore, is a system and method that advances and improves upon the current technology and that not only advances the control and mixture of fuels used for combustion in an engine, but also facilitates providing a system and method that efficiently and effectively uses waste heat, reduces emissions and provides a cogeneration electrical system having automatic refilling and control.